Community Clean-up Day

Road cleaning operations seek to ensure hygiene and sanitation on major cane transportation routes during the harvest, including in communities of the bateyes and Las Salinas.

Two operations were carried out in March, with the participation of 115 people from around 12 communities. The tasks involve picking up trash and cane left on the ground on railroads and overland transportation routes.

The Central Sugar Consortium (CAC) is also negotiating an agreement with the authorities to improve and streamline cleaning throughout the sugarcane route.  In this regard, a meeting was held between the trustees of the municipalities, the person in charge of the Ministry of Public Works, and the CAC to be able to conduct a joint cleaning of the public transport routes.

CAC's Community Relations Officer, Esteban Mariñez, said that around 12 communities are benefiting from clean-up days organized in partnership with community organizations and community leaders in these areas. "In all cleaning operations, we involve people from the communities in these area wherever cleaning days are held," he said.

In partnership with the communities, CAC also provides resource to them as a way to support them with income through productive work that can support the family. Mr. Mariñez pointed out that community members receive resources as a result of the cleaning work. He also pointed out that the CAC spent more than 100 thousand pesos in payments to the community members who engage in the cleaning work.

Mr. Mariñez explained that two monthly operations are being carried out in the bateyes area, while in Habanero, it is done weekly or twice a week, and in Salinas, twice a month.

He detailed that the work is divided into areas depending on the type of work. “There are areas where local organizations, women, young people and men participate. In Habanero, there is a community staff that collects cane and trash, while other staff cleans the spilled cachaça on the roads," said Mr. Mariñez.